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Last month, Ralph’s goal was to place on the podium at Battleground South Bay and he did with a 3rd place finish in men’s intermediate division!

At CrossFit Askal, we designate a special area on the whiteboard for our members to write their goal(s) and every month we encourage them to think of new goals to conquer. Goals can be something as simple as getting 8 hours of sleep a day, getting your first pull up or beating your 1 mile time. It’s a great way to motivate and push our athletes to continually accomplish new things and holds them accountable. We also have a “PR” (Personal Records) area where our members can list their accomplishments.

Month after month, I see our athletes list their goals. For example, take a look at last month’s Goal Board:

Increase more fiber in my diet (I’ll admit, this one is mine)

Bar Muscle Up

Pull Ups

Rope Climbs

Place [on the podium] at a competition

Mobility + Health + Eat & Sleep

Handstand Push

Muscle Up

These are all very good goals and each month goals very similar to these are repeatedly written on the board however, often these goals are not accomplished. Why?

Who’s guilty of setting “empty” goals? Maybe “empty” is not the proper word. Maybe you had great intention to conquer these goals but simply forgot about them? Admit it, we all do this.

So how can we fix this? The next time you set a goal ask yourself the following questions:

Is the goal specific?

Let’s take pull ups as an example. How many would you like to be able to complete? Assisted or non-assisted? By what date? If you have been doing ring rows, maybe your goal is to do one or two pull ups with a (specific color) band. Or perhaps you would like to do a specific workout without assisted pull ups (“Fran”, anyone?)

Is the goal realistic?

Make sure the goal is attainable within that month. If you come to a conclusion that your goal isn’t break it down into smaller goals or steps. For example, if your goal is to do a handstand push up but you are unable to do a handstand, you might want to divide that goal into smaller ones. It would look something like this:

May Goal: 1 solid handstand hold

June Goal: 1 handstand with head target 12 inches off the ground (you would be stacking abmats underneath your head)

July Goal: 10 handstands with head target 12 inches off the ground

August Goal: 5 handstands with head target 10 inches off the ground

September Goal: 5 handstands with head target 8 inches off the ground

You would continue setting small, realistic goals that would take you one step closer to achieving your overall goal. Keep in mind, there is more than one way to achieve the example goal above and any goal.

Keep in mind your mobility too. If your goal is to do a handstand but have tight wrists and/or shoulders, you will need to address that first and implement it as a goal within the first stage.

Do you have a plan?

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

You can’t set a goal without a plan of attack. Sit down and write down a game plan. If you are set on achieving your first unassisted strict pull up, what kind of homework will you do to get yourself there? For example, a few months back this was my goal and my game plan was to do pull up work 2-3x week depending on how I felt. It looked very similar to this:

Mondays: Negative pull ups

Wednesdays: Ring Rows and Face Pulls

Fridays: Assisted pull ups with the band

Reps and numbers varied on my workouts and how I was feeling. I have tendonitis on my left elbow so I always err on the side of caution and did a ton of mobility too.

SO WHAT NOW?

Ask a coach

Feeling overwhelmed or simply don’t know what plan of action to take? This is where coaches come in—simply grab a coach either before or after class and ask for some guidance. They are very knowledgeable and can help you create a road map to conquering your goal.

Grab a pen and paper…

.. or preferably your workout journal and put your thoughts onto paper and put them in action. Think about the above questions and write down your answers.

Grab a buddy

Do you have a friend that can keep you on check? Ask them to help keep you accountable. Or perhaps you know someone who has similar goals- buddy up and work on your homework together.